Toadie

So it's my birthday, and I'm not going to lie, it's been a week. On top of the slow splintering of all things para/social leaving with an increasing foreboding sense of abandonment, and the exhausting task of moderating my XTwitter profile as literal Nazis spent the week sliding into my DMs shrieking to prove how they are all definitely not turning into corn cobs, my partner's out of country on a visa-mandated leave, meaning I'm just kind of tired and bummed on top of everything.

So, to try and turn the mood all around for myself - I wanna share train stuff that I like, some made by me, some not. Some of this might have been posted here before, so please bare with me. Also, this will be image heavy, so fair warning.

First up- A gift from my partner for my birthday a few years ago - two N-Scale X Class good puppers made by a local bloke and also some art I made.

Above: N-scale model of X Class 1002 "Bibbulmun" in Westrail Orange livery
Above: N-scale model of X Class 1001 "Yalagonga" in WAGR Lined Larch Green livery

Above: sticker art depicting an XA class with the titling "Pet The Good Pupper"

The first of several scratchbuilt card N-scale (1:148) wagons (A "NZ" pattern D class 2-axle van from 19, which I later put on kit-bashed PECO 2-axle frames. The entire project concept behind getting into these was to a) be able to scratchbuild things that there are no RTR or kits for b) prove that you can get into the hobby quite cheaply if the will to put in the work yourself c) viability of doing scratchbuilding with recycled non-craft materials. This one was made from a cardboard sleeve and printer paper.

Above: Photo showing the size of the van model at 1:148 scale- something like 22mm long

Above: Van posed next to similarly scaled X-class - still looks small!

Above: The van in it's current configuration - mounted on an N-scale PECO 2- axle 15-foot steel underframe (they're like 10 bucks Australian) and coloured in with pencils

Continuing scratchbuilds - the ones I'm most proud of a pair of Z class enclosed Bogie Brake Vans, with a picture of one at this year's Model Train show next to an Sn3.5 Scale model of the same type. The Duckets were a nightmare to make, that they look okay as they do is a miracle. You can also see that cutting the windows was a challenge, as the widths at play were less than the scalpel tip. Running boards are single sheets of printer paper on hanger brackets, and the body detailing was printed onto the card.

Above: Two N-scale Z Class bogie brake vans, one in WAGR Green, one in Westrail freight yellow

Above: One of the brakes approximately lined up to coupling height on one of the X classes to get a sense of proportion


Above: Brake van travels abroad: Showing the difference in scale, my N-scale(1:148) van next to the same class in SN3.5(1:64)

Last in card, but to a larger scale- I'm currently working my way through building all of my trans gal pals bespoke 1:23 Scale narrow gauge steam engines. It's a secret though, they don't know that I'm doing it or which ones they're getting The going is slow and I'm still on the first, a Quarrie Hunslet, but I'm quite proud of how it's turning out.

Above: IRL ex-Port Penrhyn Hunslet "Lilian"

Above: Cardboard model start, Frames, running boards and headbeams in place

Above: Showing some of the miscellaneous parts being made as the main boiler barrel and smokebox start to take shape. The barrel itself is made of PET plastic from a soft drink bottle cut to length, rolled to spec, superglued and then held tight with too many elastic bands

Above: Current state of things. The saddle tank was a little oversized, so I've committed to the idea of making a second so that I can send the "good" one out and just have the weird reject to myself.

Switching mediums- the last year or so I've been having a resurgence of interest in drawing and it's something I'm glad to be able to be finding joy in again -

Above: "Crew Change"

Above: "Going for a float down the beach"

Above: Pride 2023 art

Above: "Faldod Gormodol Y Llygoden"(From a Fantasy Wales idea I'm slowly fleshing out)

Above: "Showing off at the Crossing"(From a Fantasy Wales idea I'm slowly fleshing out)

Above: Sauced up screenshot from Derail Valley I drew my roo into

Using the last piece of drawing to transition into fully digital mediums - let's start the talk about DV stuff. In lieu of for Custom Cars being fully supported with the Simulator update, I've been contenting with polishing off and continuing my terminal Westralian syndrome. DE2 is in both White-nosed shunter variant of Larch Green and Westrail Orange, DH4 is just in Westrail Orange so far(though I have developed a variant that makes it somewhat lore friendly with a DVRT-inspired logo)

Lastly, I've also been building full 3D rolling stock too. Here's a C Class from English-Electric of Rocklea, Queensland as it is right now. Hoping to put it in DV eventually, but I'm sure I could find a place for it somewhere anyway if not.
Above: Number 1 End
Above: Number 2 End

And because I have officially had enough of the completely outdated Interwar Stock the Arma 2 and 3 uses to represent rail freight in their fictional Eastern-Block country, I am actually doing some ACTUAL soviet satellite state freight stock, like this 11-280 boxcar (with GOST 9238-83 wheelsets)
Above: 11-280 Boxcar - in progress
Above: GOST 9238-83 wheelset - in progress

I'm going to round it all off with a few youtube channels I've been watching a lot this year that I enjoy quite a bit -
First - Interurban Era on youtube. Very relaxed but informative , especially for modelling a corner of the world I see very little of normally. ALTA is kind of the kind of a realistic goals layout for me- strong intended presentation use-case and well considered scenery and layout, but not a "we have a basement and it is all train" kind of investment. All their other videos are just as neat too, and it's fascinating seeing their approach to various related subjects. They're also here on cohost, and their writing is as well considered as their videos.
Second - Thunder Mesa Studio on youtube. Similarly, very accessible and informative on the craftwork, if a little more directed strictly at discussing techniques and whatnot. Different approch, no better or worse. Thorough and concise, and the end results speak for themselves on the fantastic layouts that make up the studio space. Not gonna lie, seeing it tempts looking at that larger O-scale Narrow Gauges.
Third - Will James Railways on youtube. So Will's a bit of a generalist for the Australian rail scenes - both full scale and model. Runs a bulletin of Model Railway news which is kind of THE one to watch in that regard, as well as show reports, but also does a whole bunch of railfanning content from within his home state and while on travels. It's all got a professional lo-fi vibe to it and it's just nice sometimes to have on in the background.
Last - Pannier Productions on youtube. Quickly becoming one of my favourite videographers for railfan content Down Under. I've linked directly one of their videos that shows off some of it. Has an absolute knack for picking great spots, framings and lighting.

So, due to a lack of toner I've been unable to work on my card craft trains projects for... a good couple months now... but I've been chomping at the bit to do more creative train stuff. So a fortnight I got dabbling in blender making rolling stock with the idea of putting 'em in Rolling Line (the VR model rail experience). You may have seen that in my previous Toast-rack. My little dabble yesterday was to actually test how well I was doing, and actually put my work into RL and figure out how I'm doing.

So, it was actually a fairly clean import, much of a non-issue, TBH. One thing that immediately made itself apparent, and it was an issue I knew was going to crop up - Rolling Line depicts scale model Standard Gauge track (4' 8.5" between rails at full size reference), my van is a depiction of a narrower rail gauge (3' 6"). Looking to the real-life modelling scales and gauges for answers, you kind of have three approaches to tackling non-standard formats within a certain accepted scale: Using the popular and common HO Scale (1:87) as a reference for concepts

1. You can use a narrower track, and keep everything to scale (IRL solution - HOm/HOn3.5 Gauge) - not feasible in Rolling Line... yet.
2. Re-gauge out the wheels to the track gauge you have, keep all other dimensions to scale (IRL Solution - New Zealand/Queensland ready-to-run HO)
3. Keep your track but scale everything up to a larger scale to be correct for the track's width (IRL Solution - Sn3.5)

I feel like I'm going for option 3. For one, it seems to fit with the scenecraft I've already made, and for two, I don't like the idea of whaling on the axle width- you lose some of the charm of the wide-bodies-on-little-narrow-wheels aesthetic.

You can see in the pictures just how much larger my imported vans are compared to that boxcar (which reasonably close to the same height IRL)

Anyway. All this to say, yay I am playing virtual trains again, and I have officially become a digital Sn3.5 snob.

EDIT: Oh, forgot- a Brief on the FD Van

Up until 1952 the number of louvred vans owned by the W.A.G.R. was quite small and consisted of the wagons in class F, FA, FB and FC. However, in 1953-5 a total of one thousand FD class vans were built by Commonwealth Engineering on the Standard post-war 18'-0" chassis.
These were probably the most complex of the vehicles built on this chassis simply because of the fully louvred sides and doors. It was probably also asking for trouble on the maintenance front.
In later years most FDs ran with their lower sides sheeted in with plywood. Some vans retained their original doors but on the majority the doors were completely sheeted over. A small number of vans such as FD13481 above remained in almost their original configuration until the end.